What is the NASCAR 'choose rule'?
NASCAR’s new ‘choose rule’ is coming straight out of the short track race book.
Choose wisely.
NASCAR has announced that it will use the ‘choose rule’ that it tested at the All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway for the remainder of the 2020 season and beyond, starting with this weekend's races in Michigan.
The rule, which is common in regional and local short track racing, lets drivers pick which lane they want to use on restarts, instead of everyone alternating sides behind the race leader. During a race, one lane typically provides better grip and gives the cars in it an advantage when the green flag drops.
In NASCAR, an orange V with a box between its lines is painted on the track and drivers must pick a lane before they cross it. Potentially, if the first five cars choose one side the car in sixth place could take the other and start on the front row, adding a new kind of strategy into the mix.
The rule will be in effect across all three NASCAR national series at all of the oval tracks, except for the Daytona and Talladega superspeedways, but won’t be used on road courses.